Officials from
NOAA's National Weather Service recognized Elk County, Pa., as a leader
by naming it to be among the agency's “StormReady” counties
today. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is an agency
of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“StormReady
encourages counties to take a new, proactive approach to improving
local hazardous weather operations and public awareness,” said
Bruce Budd, meteorologist-in-charge at the NWS Weather Forecast Office
in State College, Pa. “Pennsylvania and Elk County have a long
history of severe weather. The state experiences about a dozen weather-related
fatalities per year and we are working hard to reduce that number.”

The nationwide
community preparedness program uses a grassroots approach to help
communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding
threats. The program is voluntary, and provides communities with clear-cut
advice from a partnership between the local NWS Weather Forecast Office
and state and local emergency managers. StormReady started in 1999
with seven communities in the Tulsa, Okla., area. There are now more
than 750 StormReady communities in 47 states.

At the regularly
scheduled Elk County commissioners meeting today, NWS officials presented
a StormReady recognition letter and special StormReady signs to county
officials. The StormReady recognition will be in effect for three
years when the county will go through a recertification process.

“Every year,
around 500 Americans lose their lives to severe weather and floods,”
said retired Brig. Gen. David
L. Johnson, director of NOAA's National Weather Service. “More
than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 2,500 floods, 1,000 tornadoes and
10 hurricanes impact the United States annually. Potentially deadly
weather can affect every person in the country. That’s why the
National Weather Service developed the StormReady program.”

To be recognized
as StormReady, a community must:

Establish
a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center

Have
more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts
and to alert the public

“The United
States is the most severe weather prone region of the world. The mission
of the National Weather Service is to reduce the loss of life and
property from these storms, and StormReady will help us create better
prepared communities throughout the country,” Budd said.

“Just like
counties, families need to be storm ready by having an action plan
for severe weather. Through StormReady, the National Weather Service
plans to educate every American about what to do when severe weather
strikes because it is ultimately each individual's responsibility
to protect him or herself,” he said.

NOAA's National
Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and
warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA’s National
Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning
and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property
and enhance the national economy.

NOAA is dedicated
to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction
and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental
stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.